As we recently noted in the case of Iran [2], the Bush administration seems divided between Pentagon hardliners who seek a military solution and State Department pragmatists who would pursue a peaceful "regime change" scenario in Syria. But these are not mutually exclusive options, of course. In most recent cases of Washington effecting a power transfer in a targeted country—from Nicaragua in 1989 to Yugoslavia in 2000—a combination of external military pressure and internal political support was brought to bear.
Syria: US to Finance Opposition
The United States will allocate $5 million to finance the Syrian oppsition and "accelerate the work of the reformers," the State Department said, two days after announcing a similar $85 million plan for the Iranian opposition. The Syrian money would come from the department's Middle East Partnership Initiative [3], it said, and "will build up Syrian civil society and support organizations promoting democratic practices," the department said. (NYT, Feb. 18, via AFP)
More at Qatar Peninsula [4], Melbourne Herald [5], Feb. 17, both from wire services.
See our last post on Syria [6].
